A blocked up badger sett on the old railway line. Credit: Oliver Tookey

Local people have reported seeing badgers out and about during the day as Link Road contractors start to destroy badger setts along the route of the Road. Badgers are nocturnal and would usually not come out in daylight.

For several weeks, contractors Jacobs Engineering have been working on badger setts along the first part of the route of the road, where it follows the line of the old railway out of Bexhill. There are extensive networks of setts along this part of the route, and many have been blocked with netting and one-way doors to prevent the badgers from re-entering once they have left the sett. When the setts are thought to be empty, they are destroyed using earth-moving equipment.

An artificial badger sett has been built near Adams Farm, at the eastern end of the road route, to accommodate badgers whose setts have been destroyed in that area. However, no such setts have yet been built at the Bexhill end of the route.

According to the local Wildlife Crime Officer, the work being carried out on the badger setts is licensed and legal. However, that doesn’t make it right, and we have great concern for the wellbeing of these badgers who are being forced out of their homes at the start of the winter. It’s another example of how the Link Road will have far-reaching and damaging effects not only on people but also on the wildlife of the area.